THE VAN HAS ARRIVED &

IS ON THE MOVE!!!

The new PWSPCA P.A.W. Express  Pet Adoption Van has the following scheduled adoption events in Pr. Wm. County:
May 20, 2012 PETCO Unleashed Noon – 3:00
May 26, 2012 PETCO Dale City Noon – 3:00
June 10, 2012 PETCO Manassas Noon – 3:00
June 23, 2012 PETCO Dale City Noon – 3:00

As the Director of LUCAS and a Board Member of the PWSPCA, I am more than excited to bring the news that the new P.A.W. Express, Mobile Adoption Van is out and about and doing adoptions.  Our first trial run event resulted in 3 adoptions, now that’s what I call a success. This new program is going to be a great resource for the homeless pets and pet lovers of Prince William County, so come on out and see what all the fuss is about. Take a look at our new van, our adoptable animals and all the opportunities to Make A Difference.

Background on the P.A.W. Express:

The Prince William SPCA is the recipient of a $154,565 PETCO Foundation Extraordinary Gift that was used to purchase and maintain a 26’ Multi-purpose Mobile Pet Adoption Van. The grant proposal included the request for a custom-built van that primarily will be used to increase adoptions of pets at the Prince William County Animal Shelter. The van will also assist in relief efforts of companion animals in crisis and serve as a transport vehicle to a spay/neuter facility. The grant was submitted as a joint partnership between the Prince William SPCA and the Prince William County Animal Shelter. Prince William SPCA Board Members wrote the successful grant application that secured the funding for the van.

The PETCO Foundation was looking for proposals that were creative, increased connections with their local community and local PETCOs, employed innovation, and most importantly enhanced the lives of animals in alignment with the goals of the PETCO Foundation. In an e-mail to the PWSPCA confirming the award, Paul Jolly, Executive Director of the PETCO Foundation, stated, “Congratulations. The competition for funding was intense, but your request impressed us all.” “We are thrilled that the Prince William SPCA was chosen for this grant, which will bring animals out of the shelter and into the community to find potential adopters,” states Prince William SPCA President Melissa Korzuch. She adds, “We thank the PETCO Foundation for their generosity in providing us with this grant, which opens up so many opportunities for the shelter pets to gain exposure and ultimately find a home. It is a perfect example of how municipal shelters and nonprofits can work together to improve the lives of companion animals.

The van will work as a mobile billboard promoting shelter pet adoption. This is fantastic news for our county, our citizens and our animals. The van has the capacity to hold approximately 26 animals, has roll doors that allow the animals to be viewed from the outside and has walk-in capability for potential adopters to meet the pets in the van. The grant covers the cost of the van plus five years of maintenance and administrative costs. Additional expenses after the first five years will be provided through fundraising efforts. Plans are underway to develop a schedule for weekly adoption shows and appearances at various community events, festivals and at PETCO stores in the Northern Virginia area.

The Prince William County Animal Advisory Committee is 2 years old and we are continuing to achieve amazing accomplishments which directly benefit our community and its pets.

In our first year these included: Improving the Spay/Neuter Compliance rate at the PWC Animal Shelter; Implementation of a Pet Redemption Program; Organization and implementation of Operation Safe Haven; Assisted in development of a comprehensive Feral Cat TNR program; Initiated a Shelter Volunteer Program and Improved public relations through our “Pet Tips” ads created for the Friday edition of the Potomac News.

Last years accomplishments by the AAC provided for improvements to the Shelter including: Assisting the PW Cty. Shelter to implement a Behavior Hotline which is accessible now through the Shelter’s website; Identifying and assembling the list of partnerships within the community’s rescue and animal welfare organizations; Implementing a new food service contract for the Shelter pets; and Assisting in the organization of a foster program for adoptable Shelter animals.

Shelter Improvements, Programs and News:

In addition to the accomplishments of the Animal Advisory Committee, the Shelter is making impressive improvements in many ways. These include;

• Hiring a Veterinarian to assist the Shelter with a Wellness Program
• Renovations to the cat and small animal area to provide more space and new cat “condos”
• Implementation of Seniors 4 Seniors special adoption program to promote the adoption of pets over 5 years old to pet lovers over 60
• Currently designing a Pets 2 Veterans special adoption program
• Creating a welfare fund for indigent animal veterinary procedures
• Expanding their volunteer base and job opportunities
• And lastly, and most importantly, we are thrilled to announce that the Shelter is working diligently on adhereing to the Asilomar Accords, a collaboration of animal welfare groups in the U.S. toward the common goal of significantly reducing the euthanasia of healthy and treatable dogs and cats in this country. To that end, they have established a Euthanasia Management Team to implement strict guideline criteria for euthanizing animals, specifically limiting this to significantly aggressive animals or those with untreatable life threatening health conditions. And, we are delighted to announce that they have had zero euthanasias since Jan. 1, 2012.

Prince William’s First Dog Park is coming soon:

We are continuing to pursue the realization of a Dog Park located on the Shelter property and are very close to accomplishing this goal. Lowe’s in Woodbridge has graciously donated the fencing needed to enclose the property, Cindy’s Lansdscape Services has designed and built steps into the hillside for ease of access, Doody Calls is furnishing the Sanitary stations, the water fountains have been donated and we are now waiting on County approval and installation of the fence to complete this project. I know there are a lot of dog owners who will be very happy to have a local dog park to go to and this one will be quite nice. LUCAS is accepting donations for the Dog Park on behalf of the Shelter and we will soon be offering Memorial/Dedication Benches for those interested in making that type of donation.

This is an exciting time for Prince William County citizens and their pets and I’m honored to be a small part of it.

The purpose of the Animal Advisory Committee (AAC) is to promote animal welfare and encourage responsible pet ownership through various programs, classes and special events that will assist Prince William County in providing the best possible animal welfare services in the community and improve the operation of the Pr. Wm. County Animal Shelter. The AAC scope is limited to matters relating to domestic household pets only.

I am so grateful to my County Supervisor, Maureen Caddigan, for the opportunity to serve on the Animal Advisory Committee and look forward to all the wonderful accomplishments we have yet to achieve and continuing to help companion animals in PWC.

A Huge Thank You to PWSPCA for providing the funding to the Pr. Wm. Cty. Animal Shelter to purchase Shelter specific database software which will improve spay/neuter compliance, be accessible to Animal control Officers in their mobile units, increase visibility of shelter pets through expanded on-line promotion, and assist the county staff in tracking cruelty and hoarding cases.

The “Neuter Commuter” is doing waggingly well and can now accommodate more pets each month. This month we had 63 cats & dogs

Next Available Dates: May 11/12; June 15/16, July 13/14, Aug 24/25, and Sept 21/22 (registration opens 3 weeks prior to appt. date)

LUCAS is continuing to provide financial assistance to low income pet owners by partnering with the Prince William SPCA in their Neuter Commuter Program. To date, LUCAS has assisted 60 pets and The Neuter Commuter has serviced 1331 pets. We would like to help more, so if you know a pet owner who is in need of our assistance, please refer them to our website.

We are pleased to announce that the Prince William SPCA has a new spay/neuter clinic as a partner for this program. Shenandoah Valley Spay/Neuter Clinic provides the transportation and perform the procedures for this program. Pets are transported to the clinic via a new specially equipped van that travels to Pr Wm Cty monthly to pick up approximately 60 cats and dogs. It will then travel to the clinic where the pets will have their procedures and stay over night to recover. The next day, the van comes back to Pr Wm Cty. There is no income requirement so anyone can participate, but space is limited. The van runs monthly, however, the frequency of the service may be expanded if the need increases beyond 60 pets a month. The Shenandoah Valley Spay/Neuter Clinic is a Humane Alliance High Volume/ High Quality clinic which offers low prices, shorter commutes, and overnight recovery for our pets.

Please visit the PWSPCA website to see the requirements and register.

For those pet owners who cannot afford these procedures, LUCAS is here to help. It is our mission to Save Lives Through Spay and Neuter and as such, we will subsidize anyone in need. A nominal co-payment may be required. If you know anyone in need of assistance, please refer them to our website for more information. And as always, as a token of our gratitude and appreciation, there is no co-payment required of any members of the Armed Services .

Other Spay/Neuter News!

Can’t get on the Neuter Commuter this month? The Kincheloe Clinic in Fredericksburg has just been expanded to take more pets! See their web site for more information. Please note they only take cash and operate M-F. You must have a reservation in advance.

Need Low Cost Vaccinations

The Dale City and Manassas Petcos are hosting Low Cost Vaccination Clinics every Sat and Sun. Please check their website for specific dates and times.

The Prince William SPCA’s Pet Food Pantry needs donations. The donations aren’t keeping up with the demand and inventory is depleted.  To help, please take your donations to the Manassas City Animal Adoption Center during their normal business hours. They are located 10039 Dean Dr. in Manassas, Va.

Hours of Operation: Monday, Tuesday and Friday: 10:00am-1:00pm AND 4:00pm-6:00pm, Wednesday: 5:00pm-7:00pm, Saturday: 10:00am-1:00pm, Sunday, Thursday and Holidays: Closed